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Roberto Luongo traded to Panthers – What this means for everyone involvedhttp://blogs.theprovince.com/2014/03/04/roberto-luongo-traded-to-panthers-what-this-means-for-everyone-involved/
http://blogs.theprovince.com/2014/03/04/roberto-luongo-traded-to-panthers-what-this-means-for-everyone-involved/#commentsWed, 05 Mar 2014 00:55:48 +0000http://blogs.theprovince.com/?p=145954A couple of days removed from the Heritage Classic debacle which saw an upset and defeated Roberto Luongo sit out the marquee game in favor of young upstart Eddie Lack, Roberto Luongo has finally been traded. He was dealt, along …]]>A couple of days removed from the Heritage Classic debacle which saw an upset and defeated Roberto Luongo sit out the marquee game in favor of young upstart Eddie Lack, Roberto Luongo has finally been traded. He was dealt, along with Steve Anthony (this is the last time you will ever read this name in an NHL context) for Jacob Markstrom and Shawn Matthias. Matthias has long been rumored to have been on the Canucks radar, because of plays like this:

So pretty. So very very pretty.

That being said, this trade was a long time coming. With the way the Canucks have handled Luongo since 2011, you just know there was no way Luongo was going to finish his career in Canucks colors. There was a reason Luongo fired his previous agent at the start of the season, and it wasn’t because his old agent was always spoiling TV shows for him.

Now that Luongo is finally gone, though, it’s time to take stock of all the prime players in this assorted mess and see where they stand now.

Roberto Luongo

Canucks fans have had an interesting ride with Luongo. He rode a wave of popularity when he first arrived, then began to falter after his perceived meltdowns against Chicago in multiple playoffs, the low point being the bad games he had against Boston in the 2011 Finals. After he emerged on twitter, though, and after he remained a professional during the entire Schneider situation, fans rallied on his behalf, and he became arguably a bigger fan favorite then when he first joined the team. All of a sudden he was a character people could sympathize with, one who gained the respect of many Canucks fans for the professional way he handled a tough situation.

Make no bones about it, Luongo could have had himself a tantrum and sat out or screamed about his situation to the media. Throughout the entire process, though, Luongo remained a true professional and simply tried to play his best when he was put in the nets, and he should be lauded for that.

He leaves Vancouver as a fan favorite, and one who most will wish well on his future endeavors. There was a lot of “I’m glad he gets to go play hockey away from Vancouver” sentiment floating around on Twitter today. He also leaves Vancouver as the franchises best goalie of all time. You have to remember, the Canucks were riding the hot duo of Dan Cloutier and Alex Auld before he arrived (I will wait while you finish dry heaving), and he immediately turned the team around. Luongo played his heart out in Vancouver, sometimes to the point of tears, and he will be missed by many. I am sure many a small child will be bursting into tears tonight when mom or dad has to break the news to them that Luongo is no longer a Canuck.

On the business side of things, Luongo was 35 years old, and the Canucks had gotten the best years out of him. On that side of things, it’s a good decision to move on. Emotionally, yes, this is going to be very tough for people to handle, and there is a lot of anger at the way he was treated, but in a business sense, it’s good for Luongo and good for Vancouver to part ways.

Eddie Lack

Eddie is the new kid in town, and he now has to face the pressure of being the Canucks number one goalie. Eddie is one of the few Canucks I can say I personally know, and I only bring this up because if there is one guy who can handle the stress and strains of Vancouver’s media grind, it would be Eddie. He takes everything in stride, and did his best to handle an awkward situation in the Heritage Classic, and he will only get stronger mentally as he embraces the number one role. I know Eddie likes to joke around a lot, but when it comes to hockey, and life, he is one of the most competitive people I have ever met. He is also a huge student of the game, and if there was a hockey school, Eddie would be the guy asking the teacher for more homework, and reminding the teacher when he forgot to give a quiz (Eddie would not be very popular at hockey school).

Does Eddie have the talent to be an above average NHL starter? Time will tell. It’s tough to gauge that on such a small sample size, but what we’ve seen from Eddie, he’s looked good. He has played well for a crippled Canucks team, so there should be some hope that he can be a guy the Canucks can count on, especially when the team is healthy.

Also don’t forget that Rollie Melanson, the Canucks goalie coach, loves big goalies that are open to learning, so I can imagine Rollie is excited about continuing to mentor Eddie.

“Deep in your crease Eddie. Deeper. Deeeeeeper.

Jacob Markstrom

Markstrom used to have a huge stock seemingly just last year, when often he was talked about being “the best goalie outside of the NHL”. That is a dangerous label, as Jiri Dopita can attest to, and Markstrom has struggled during his time in the NHL. The theory is now that his stock dropped so low due to his poor play, that Florida no longer believed in him as “their guy”, so he was made available to Vancouver.

Once again, the Rollie Melanson card will be played here, as Markstrom is a HUGE goalie at 6”6, and Rollie is probably getting pretty excited picture Markstrom spreading into the butterfly and playing deep in his crease. “Deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeper!” It is the best of a worst situation, as at least the Canucks have two young talented goalies to battle for the nets.

Shawn Matthias

The Canucks have wanted Matthias for a long while, as noted earlier, and he does fill the role of a 3rd line center for the Canucks. At 26, the label of “up and coming prospect” should be thrown to the wayside, and people should probably just embrace him for what he is, a bottom 6 player who can put up 20 points a year. He will be a very serviceable player for the Canucks, though we won’t be solving their scoring woes anytime soon. With the injuries the Canucks have, though, a warm body is probably a very welcome sight at this point.

John Tortorella/Rollie Melanson/Mike Gillis

It’s impossible to know the full truth behind the Winter Classic debacle. Some people say Torts made the call, others say Rollie holds all the power over goalie starts. Some suggested management held Luongo out due to possible trade talks. The only line that would make sense in this is if the Canucks held out Luongo due to trade talks. That is of course just the spin the Canucks put on it as Mike Gillis indicated during a press conference today that the reason Lu was held out was due to potential trades.

Here is the problem with that. One, you can never trust a GM. Two, it seems very convenient. Three, why not tell Luongo you might be shopping him around and that’s why he is being held out of the game? I feel telling him you’re looking to trade him would be an easier pill to swallow then “Oh hey Lu, the big game, yeah, you’re not starting, Eddie is better than you.”

Regardless of what happened, it appears the Luongo benching at the Classic was the last straw, so Gillis finally found a price he could live with, and away Roberto went. And if we’re being honest, Gillis got a pretty solid return for Luongo. Markstrom has a ton of potential still, and Matthias should be a useful roster player. All things considered, I liked the deal.

The problem was the PR damage they did while trying to trade him. Let’s take a quick look at the events and how they played out:

– Luongo is starter in 2011

– Luongo loses nets to Schneider

– Schneider signs deal, told team is his

– Luongo sits the year in back up role

– Schneider gets traded last second

– Luongo back to number one

– Luongo loses nets to Eddie Lack

Now, some people will look at this and say Luongo simply got outplayed and that’s the business side of the NHL rearing its ugly head. Other people will look at this and wonder why Luongo wasn’t just traded in the first place, and just keep Schneider, a more proven commodity than Eddie Lack. Sure, the Gillis spin will be that Horvat was a signature piece of this franchises future, and that the deals for Luongo weren’t there last year. The problem with that is that real humans were involved in these transactions and it just looked, for lack of a better word, messy and disorganized. Nothing looked like it was planned from the Canucks end. The entire Gillis reign has been marked by a steadfast refusal to admit wrongdoings, so it always feels like a PR machine is at work, trying to prove they did the right thing, that there was no other choice. As a result of this, it’s hard to give them the benefit of the doubt when new messy situations appear.

Case in point, the Luongo situation. Sure, maybe they did sit him out for the Classic due to pending trades, but nothing Gillis has done lately points to an organization that has handled things in a clean manner. The entire Luongo/Schneider/Lack situation has been a PR disaster and has made the organization look bad. I honestly wouldn’t be shocked if a “Fire Gillis” chant started up at hockey games. There is a real dislike of the Gillis regime in Vancouver right now, heavier than I have ever seen one in Vancouver. The Keenan days might be the last time it’s been this bad…. it will be very interesting to see how the fans react to Gillis and co. moving forward. Just watching Gillis give depressed and defeated interviews as of late makes one wonder if he will just quit on his own accord and give the rebuild job to somebody else, rather than deal with the backlash.

And that is my final takeway from this. The Luongo trade today was actually good value in my humble opinion. And hey, maybe Horvat ends up being worth Schneider and Lack ends up being a top 10 goalie. The problem is the way they handled it, and the risks they are taking. They took proven a proven commodity in Schneider and moved him for an unknown, for what? To get a Markstrom and Matthias level return on Luongo? Will that be worth it in the long run? That will be the question everyone is going to want answered. It’s crazy to think that the Canucks went from Schneider and Luongo to Lack and Markstrom in a single year.

In the meantime, they now have themselves a situation where the fan base is angry and upset with the team. The owners will only care if it upsets their bottom dollar, so that’s the next question, did today’s moves do enough to piss off the fan base that they stop pumping in as much money to the franchaise? I don’t know, but from a few hours of twitter reactions, there just might be enough negativity out there to cause an economic impact on the club. Twitter can be fickle, though, and maybe this all blows over in due time, but my gut feeling is that a lot of Canucks fans have checked out of team Gillis, for good.

And to think, Kesler still has time to be traded by tomorrow? Buckle up!

What a whirlwind week it has been for the Vancouver Canucks and their fans. First, news of Ryan Kesler’s trade requests came out, then were denied. Then rookie netminder Eddie Lack was controversially given …

]]>Jaw-dropper, thy name is Luongo trade.

What a whirlwind week it has been for the Vancouver Canucks and their fans. First, news of Ryan Kesler’s trade requests came out, then were denied. Then rookie netminder Eddie Lack was controversially given the start in the Canucks Heritage Classic game on Sunday over “franchise goalie” Roberto Luongo and now… man, I never thought I would say this….

Roberto Luongo and the unmovable contract have been moved.

(Shown here on Sunday, waving goodbye?)

Reports came out less than an hour ago (via NHL.com) that Luongo has been traded back to the Florida Panthers.

(Shown here sitting on the bench- OH NO!!)

There is certainly a lot of emotion in Canucks fans right now, as twitter is cracking in half with the news. Before we get too deep down the rabbit hole, let’s take a look at what is really important here, the Canucks future.

Here is what they got back in the trade:

A first round pick

A 2nd line center

A 3rd line center with upside

Goalie Jacob Markstrom and Shawn Matthias.

Oh dear.

(Shown here… out- hockeying a Senators player to an amazing degree)

So that means within the last 9 months, General Manager Mike Gillis has unloaded the best goalie in franchise history and the guy who seemed destined to be as good, if not better for the likes of Markstrom, Matthias and Bo Horvat. Obviously nobody can tell the future and maybe all three of those guys have their jerseys retired someday, but… ugh. I’ve defended GMMG a lot over the years but that officially stops today.

(Coming to a theatre near Lu)

But with the ominous and uncertain future a topic for another day, today is all about the man who is no longer able to be part of the marketing slogan “We Are All Canucks”, unless he wishes to be branded a liar.

It hurts a bit to look at this picture now, but it was an amazing moment in team lore and there is no better time than a day like today to relive it.

(Without a doubt the most iconic Luongo image in Vancouver)

As sad as I am to see him go, I am absolutely thrilled for Roberto Luongo. The man gave this city everything he had, and I will fondly look back at his time here as “The Golden Age of Goaltending” in Vancouver. We saw 18 goalies at one point or another have the starting job between Kirk McLean leaving and Roberto Luongo arriving, and it was… not fun.

(No disrespect to Peter Skudra. Well, maybe a little)

There are many things about Luongo I will always remember as a Canucks fan, but the first thing I can think of right now is the moment he first became a Canuck. I remember being at a concert (Seu Jorge, for those keeping score at home) and sitting in the balcony. I saw one person’s phone light up, and as he checked it he excitedly hit the person next to him and showed him what his phone said.

Then I saw another phone light up in the crowd. Then another. Same result, being in that whatever these people were reading, they were excited about it.

“This is pretty disrespectful to the performer” I thought briefly, before my phone went off and I read the message:

“LOUNGO TRADED TO VAN!!! HOLY S****!!!”

Without fail, I immediately showed my friend beside me the message, and we both knew as Canucks fans things had just changed forever. This was the guy that could finally get us that long-awaited Stanley Cup and make the Canucks an elite team the entire NHL could be envious of.

And all around the theatre, more and more phones lit up. That was the excitement and optimism that spread when Roberto Luongo became a Vancouver Canuck. Although he didn’t get us that Stanley Cup, every single fan was right in thinking that trade forever changed the landscape of the team. There were rough patches as well, and even the most ardent Luongo supporters may have shaken their heads at a soft goal or two, but Luongo was only human.

Even with all the strife and second guessing he went through here in regards to the Cory Schneider situation, Luongo always stayed positive and was a supportive teammate. He very easily could have bitched and moaned about things and flat-out demanded a trade, refusing to dress unless he was dealt, but he didn’t do that. He remained on the bench, supporting the guy chosen to replace him.

Even after the Schneider trade happened, he returned to Vancouver, hoping for a fresh start and ready to be “the man” for the Canucks once again.

(Eventually, this happened)

Eddie Lack is a great alternative for a team that has to be thinking rebuild right now, and in my interview with ex-Canucks goalie Kirk McLean he said he was really excited about the young goalies the Canucks have. So while I’m thrilled for Eddie Lack to get this great opportunity (and for Markstrom and Jaocim Erikson as well), I’m saddened it had to come like this.

(Although I can think of someone who won’t be as sad)

Roberto Luongo gave us his best years and our best years, and for that I will miss him terribly and wish him all the best in Florida. I’m glad of all the places he could have ended up, he ended up home.

However even if he had the “Men In Black” memory wipe thingy, I will never forget him as a Vancouver Canuck.

]]>http://blogs.theprovince.com/2014/03/04/if-you-love-something-set-it-free-roberto-luongo-traded-to-florida/feed/1LuongoTradeCanucksjbowman85(Shown here on Sunday, waving goodbye?)(Shown here sitting on the bench- OH NO!!)(Shown here... out- hockeying the Sens to an amazing degree)(Coming to a theatre near Lu)(Without a doubt the most iconic Luongo image in Vancouver)(No disrespect to Peter Skudra. Well, maybe a little)(Eventually, this happened)(Although I can think of someone who won't be as sad)Luongo Men In BlackGallagher: Luongo chooses to go to an NHL gulag, but that Twitter palm tree gives you an idea how he feelshttp://blogs.theprovince.com/2014/03/04/gallagher-luongo-chooses-to-go-to-an-nhl-gulag-but-that-twitter-palm-tree-gives-you-an-idea-how-he-feels/
http://blogs.theprovince.com/2014/03/04/gallagher-luongo-chooses-to-go-to-an-nhl-gulag-but-that-twitter-palm-tree-gives-you-an-idea-how-he-feels/#commentsTue, 04 Mar 2014 23:04:20 +0000http://blogs.theprovince.com/?p=145911While it took far longer than he ever imagined, at least the Canucks finally delivered Roberto Luongo to his chosen personal destination.

Whether it’s where he should want to go, given the constant inept performance of the franchise in Florida, …

]]>While it took far longer than he ever imagined, at least the Canucks finally delivered Roberto Luongo to his chosen personal destination.

Whether it’s where he should want to go, given the constant inept performance of the franchise in Florida, is quite another matter. But Luongo is fond of saying he just wants to play. He never says much about competing.

Obviously for the deal to go down he had to approve the destination and it’s probably fair to say his his duff would have been in a sling at home with the bride and the rest of her family had he turned it down. So maybe it’s unfair to charge him with not wanting to go to a team that at some point has some desire to compete in the NHL. But this is a gulag in the NHL in terms of hockey, and given his tweet of a palm tree on his @strombone1 Twitter account, he’s delighted to be out of the zoo that was his life here in Vancouver, both under coach Alain Vigneault and now John Tortorella.

How he gets on with Tim Thomas in Florida remains to be seen, but there’s no doubt they’ll have some laughs about what happened in the Stanley Cup final in 2011 while Luongo takes his job. This may ultimately lead to the retirement of Thomas at the end of the season.

This deal actually leaves Vancouver somewhat vulnerable at a position which has been their greatest strength since Luongo was acquired by former general manager Dave Nonis prior to the 2007 season. Clearly Eddie Lack vaults immediately into the starter’s role and that’s quite a load of responsibility being thrust onto the young man’s shoulders, given his lack of experience. No question he’s done extremely well with the time he has been given but a No. 1 role is quite a bit different in the eyes of most NHL observers, particularly if goalie coach Rollie Melanson wants to move on when his contract expires at the end of this season. Melanson has worked wonderfully well with Lack but last summer he indicated he would have preferred to be in Montreal, although Jimmy Waite has now filled that job and repaired Carey Price, so there’s no way Melanson goes there now. Perhaps he re-signs here after all, which would be outstanding for Lack going forward.

Shawn Mathias is a big centre with another year left on his contract who could help fill a third-line centre role on a decent team with the right wingers. He has nine goals and seven assists in 59 games this season, which isn’t exactly outstanding, but he’s been hot of late but it’s quite a turnaround for the Canucks, who could have had a better deal from Toronto very early on in this scenario had they not overvalued Luongo at the beginning of this process.

Matthias is known as a checking centre and he must do a pretty good job at that, given his even plus-minus rating this year on a poor team in a conference where lots of goals are scored, and he was only minus-8 in the full 48-game season last year for the same sorry Panthers crew.

But the biggest relief for the Canucks is offloading the drama that attended Luongo everywhere he went, to say nothing of the cap space he will liberate for shopping on the free agent market in the summer or taking on more salary in subsequent trades.

]]>http://blogs.theprovince.com/2014/03/04/gallagher-luongo-chooses-to-go-to-an-nhl-gulag-but-that-twitter-palm-tree-gives-you-an-idea-how-he-feels/feed/0schneiderluongoPICNIKtggmanRoberto Luongo breaks silence, talks with James Duthiehttp://blogs.theprovince.com/2013/08/23/roberto-luongo-breaks-silence-talks-with-james-duthie/
http://blogs.theprovince.com/2013/08/23/roberto-luongo-breaks-silence-talks-with-james-duthie/#commentsFri, 23 Aug 2013 22:15:40 +0000http://blogs.theprovince.com/?p=126407Anytime Luongo has big news to break, you know Duthie will be the guy who he will go to. Whether it’s Luongo attempting to kill his backup goalie, or attempting to kill his backup goalie (ok, I am sensing …]]>Anytime Luongo has big news to break, you know Duthie will be the guy who he will go to. Whether it’s Luongo attempting to kill his backup goalie, or attempting to kill his backup goalie (ok, I am sensing a theme here), Luongo usually goes to Duthie when he wants to talk about high profile situations. Such was the case today when TSN aired an interview Duthie had with Luongo where the embattled goalie showed us a glimpse of his mindset about all that has happened in the last couple of seasons. In a “let’s get maximum ratings out of this” move, TSN only showed parts two of three today, and if we’re going to be honest, not a whole lot of new things were revealed, but Duthie asked the questions every has been asking lately. Here is the breakdown one part one and part two:

– Luongo will report to camp

– He wants to play hockey

– he was shocked by the Schneider trade

– He was surprised they traded Schneider without talking to him first

– he is still coming to terms with his situation

– He never turned down any deals

– He contemplated voiding his contract to move on

Now I am sure people will analyze everything from Luongo’s tone of voice to the way his hair was combed (“he used a lot of gel today, he must be super pissed off still”) to try and delve deeper into the psyche of Roberto Luongo, so I will leave that up to them. For me, it looked like a goalie who is still surprised he is Vancouver but will show up for camp as that is what he is paid to do. You get the feeling he wouldn’t mind playing elsewhere but will play in Vancouver if he has to.

The best part of the part one interview? The story of how owner Francesco Aquillini showed up at his house on draft day three picks into the draft. Luongo was watching the draft day events unfold when Aquillini asked him to turn off the TV, and then told Luongo they had traded Schneider. I don’t know why, but I found this story to be hilarious.

What will part three contain? Probably nothing much, but it’s good for Luongo to get this stuff out of the way before training camp, since it would be nice to talk about hockey with Luongo at training camp instead of looking into his eyes and asking him “tell us how you feel…no no, how you REALLY feel.” before trying to hug him and telling him it’s not his fault.

www.tsn.ca will have the interview up on their website so make sure to check it out.

Full Transcript since I am nice like that. Please note I edited out most of the “So…you know….” that Luongo likes to use in his interviews.

Duthie: The most pressing question is are you going to show up at Canucks camp motivated to be the starting goaltender for that team?

Luongo: Yeah no doubt. I have a contract, I plan to honor it. I think there is a lot at stake for me this year. First and foremost I want to re-establish myself as one of the top goalies in the league.

Duthie: WHen you say you’re going to honor your contract, that doesn’t sound like a guy who is really happy with the situation

Luongo: Things have happened over the last little while that you know I had come to the conclusion that I had moved on from Vancouver and I was ready to start fresh new chapter somewhere else.

Duthie: Did it feel like a divorce, that you were already divorced from the Canucks?

Luongo: I use that analogy all the time. That’s what it felt like, and I accepted it. And I was fine with and I had moved on personally. The only problem was she didn’t, she wanted me back

Duthie: Lets go back to draft day, June 30th. Gary Bettman steps to the podium. How did you find out about the trade?

Luongo: Francesco Aquillini the owner of the team called me in the morning, he was in Florida, and asked if could come visit me and so I was like ‘yeah, no problem’, I thought he just wanted to talk to me about my future and stuff like that. He showed up about three or four picks into the draft so he sits on my couch and he asks me to turn the TV off so I was like ‘ok’, because I was watching the draft, so I turn it off and we start talking and all of a sudden he tells me that Schneids has been traded so as he’s telling me this, my phone starts blowing up at the same time, it was like perfect timing. I was kind of floored to be honest with you, out of all the situations that I envisioned that could possibly happen to me, that wasn’t one of them.

Duthie: So what did you say to him?

Luongo: I don’t remember, I was just kind of…blacked out after that.

Duthie: Were you angry, were you upset, were you shocked?

Luongo: No no, I wasn’t angry, I was just shocked mostly. I was just trying to figure out the reasons why a decision like that would be made, especially without consulting me, that’s a pretty big move I thought to make without having an input from the guy you are going to put your trust in.

Duthie: How was it in the minutes and hours after that, coming to grips with the fact that it was Schneids that was gone and you were back to being the starting goaltender for the Vancouver Canucks?

Luongo: Well I’m still working on that part. So you know…

Duthie: You still not quite there yet?

Luongo: Well, I’m there, I’m ready to go. I’ve been training hard and turned the corner, and I think I’ve made a lot of good steps.

Duthie: It almost sounds like you’re talking like you’re in rehab.

Luongo: Well, haha, I might need some.

End of Part One

Part Two is now up:

Duthie: When this all started 14 months ago, I know that Florida, playing in Florida was your preference. Your wife Gina, her family are from here it’s where we’re doing this interview right now. Did you turn down a trade to Toronto or somewhere else in those early days?

Luongo: I never turned down a trade. What happened was I think one or two days before last year’s draft, Mike just told me that there was two or three teams that were interested. , He said “interested”, he never said “I have a trade for this team or this team” and all I said was to Mike was, “Mike, if you can, if you could do something with either Florida or Tampa, I would appreciate that, and if that doesn’t work out we can move on.” So I think that was the gist of it. I never turned down a trade.

Duthie: No actual trade was brought?

Luongo: There was never a trade on the table that I turned down. And that was the real story, unfortunately, there’s been a million other stories told since then and sometimes you don’t want to get involved in all that kind of stuff, but just to set the record straight, I think that’s what really happened.

Duthie: Draft Day was not the first time you thought you might be traded shortly. Take us back to trade deadline day.

Luongo: Ten minutes before the deadline was over, I get yanked off the ice, and they were telling me to hurry up and I needed to get to Mike’s office, so I rush over there and as I’m entering the office, they hand me the paper to sign the no waiver, and I say “woah,” so it became real at that point that this was probably it, and I soon as I sat down in Mike’s office, he walked in and just told me that the deal fell through and there was no trade.

Duthie: Did you get emotional?

Luongo: Yeah I did. Not because I was angry, or whatnot, but I just think of the range of the emotion and leading up to that day and in those last hour or two and thinking that you were traded one second and all of a sudden realizing that your’e not, I think it just got to me for a second there. I might have cried in front of another man.

Duthie: When you met with media after, you said three very telling words…(They showed TSN clip of Luongo stating “my contract sucks”)…there was certainly some that said “how can somebody that makes that kind of money stand up there and say ‘my contract sucks?'” Do you regret it at all?

Luongo: I don’t regret it, I meant what I said. I kind of still feel that way. You know I’m very grateful for the life that I have doing something that I love and getting paid well to do it. There’s no doubt about that.

Duthie: Did you look into actually voiding your contract at the end of the season when trade talks were going nowhere? Did you contemplate that and look into it?

Luongo: I explored every possibility and that was definitely one of them. At that point there’s different logistics into something like that and it’s very complicated but it was definitely something that I was looking at and ready to do if the opportunity came up.

Duthie: So you were ready to walk away from $35 million dollars?

Luongo: Yeah I was ready to walk away from it and sign somewhere else for lesser term and lesser money.

Duthie: So now what? Do you still want to be traded?

Luongo: You know, I don’t have a crystal ball and I don’t know what’s going to happen down the road, but wherever I am, I’m going to be 100% committed to that place. Right now I’m in Vancouver and I’m 100% committed to that.

End of Part two

]]>http://blogs.theprovince.com/2013/08/23/roberto-luongo-breaks-silence-talks-with-james-duthie/feed/1luongtsnkidr0llGoaltenders are the Enron stock of the NHLhttp://blogs.theprovince.com/2013/07/02/goaltenders-are-the-enron-stock-of-the-nhl/
http://blogs.theprovince.com/2013/07/02/goaltenders-are-the-enron-stock-of-the-nhl/#commentsTue, 02 Jul 2013 18:41:30 +0000http://blogs.theprovince.com/?p=122438When Cory Schneider was traded on Saturday, many Canucks fans were shocked at the return. “A first rounder? That’s it? Not even a free t-shirt?? At least give us a t-shirt!” was the general consensus at the time. In fact, …]]>When Cory Schneider was traded on Saturday, many Canucks fans were shocked at the return. “A first rounder? That’s it? Not even a free t-shirt?? At least give us a t-shirt!” was the general consensus at the time. In fact, a while back Jason Botchford captured a clip on the news after the Leafs playoff loss this year that could just as easily have been Canucks fans reaction to the Schneider deal:

“After all of that, really bro? Come on!” indeed. The idea that a potential franchise goalie was traded for only a first rounder has left many fans questioning Mike Gillis, not only for his entire handling of the Luongo/Schneider dynamic, but of how he could fetch a return that didn’t even include the nominal 2nd or 3rd rounder all deals speculated about on the internet always throw in. You know the one, the “Canucks should trade Edler for Shea Weber….ok, Edler and a 3rd rounder for Weber, let’s make it fair.”

One also has to think if the Canucks only got a first rounder for the younger, cheaper Cory Schneider, it explains why there was little to no traction on getting any return on Roberto Luongo at all. His horrifying contract and his age probably ensured that not many teams were willing to offer up much of anything, even for a goalie with such a proven track record like Roberto Luongo. Of course, the question remains then, did Mike Gillis royally screw this up, or were fans expectations simply too high to begin with? The astute readers out there will notice the title of this story and will realize I am about to argue that goalies simply have no value on the trade market, so let’s take a journey through history as we try and see how much blame we can put at Gillis’ feet for this situation.

Ah, back when he wasn’t funny on Twitter.

Roberto Luongo

Hey, remember that guy? He was also involved in a deal where everyone thought the team getting him ripped off the team trading him away. Back when Luongo was a Panther and Mike Keenan was still somehow employed, they came to a contractual impasse. As a result, Luongo was sent packing to Vancouver to see if he could supplant Dan Cloutier as the number one goalie. Hahahah, I just had a good laugh there. Anyways, Luongo was dealt to Vancouver but many people thought Florida got ripped off. The deal?

Now remember, Todd Bertuzzi had the baggage of the Steve Moore incident hanging over his head, and he most likely wanted out of Vancouver, or at the very least, Vancouver wanted him out. The fact they were able to turn the leagues most hated man at the time, into one of the top young goalies in the game, was shocking to everyone. This trade was attacked by everyone and was viewed as one of the greatest rip offs of all time. “How could you trade franchise goalie Luongo for Bertuzzi??” was a common refrain heard around the world.

No offense to Krajicek of course. He had one and a half glorious seasons in Vancouver….

Patrick Roy calling a field goal for the Alouettes?

The Trade: Patrick Roy traded from Montreal

This is probably the most high profile goalie trade in modern hockey history. Everyone knows the story, but for the few people who don’t remember, Patrick Roy, after winning two Cups in Montreal, was having himself a bit of a bad game on December 2nd, 1995. The game was not going his way, as Patrick Roy allowed 9 goals through almost two periods, leading to the famous picture of Roy raising his arms in response to the home crowd jeering him for making an easy save. Once Roy was finally, mercifully pulled from the game, he walked by team president Ronald Corey on the bench and told him “it’s my last game in Montreal.”

As a result, Montreal had a very angry Patrick Roy on their hands. Well, he was always angry, but this time he was SUPER angry, and was demanding a trade. Now remember, this was a bizarre time in the world, one in which things got done right away in hockey, so Montreal traded Roy only four days later instead of waiting two years, which is probably confusing to many Canucks fans. What did the Canadiens get for their franchise goalie, who had won them two Cups?

To Montreal:

Jocelyn Thibault, Martin Rucinsky, and Andrei Kovalenko

To Colorado

Patrick Roy

Mike Keane (then captain of the Habs)

In hindsight, it is easy to tear this trade apart. Trading your captain and your top goalie for Jocelyn “He’s french so he must be like Patrick Roy” Thibault, Martin “Mr. Perimeter” Rucinsky, and Andrei “Not quite like Kovalev” Kovalenko.

It was also easy to tear this apart when it was made. It was not a good deal. It was an awful deal. Terrible. Putrid. Patrick went on to continue his hall of fame career and Mike Keane continued to add to his Stanley Cup tattoo collection. Thibault I think might have appeared on a box of Wheaties by accident, Rucinsky enjoyed several first round losses, and Kovalenko joined the group of Russian athletes who got to use “AK 47″ as a nickname.

This picture has a play button, but it’s not a video. PSYCHE!

Jaroslav “Suck it, Ovi” Halak trade

Remember that run Halak had in the playoffs where he booted Carey Price to the curb and put the Habs on his shoulders and put on a goalie performance for the ages? That should have a great return, as Halak and Price, both good young goalies, had shown both were ready to step up and take over the reigns of a club as the number one goalie, right? What did the Habs get for Halak?

To St. Louis

Jaroslav Halak

To Montreal

Lars Ellers (13th overall) and Ian Schultz

Again, this falls nicely in the “trade your mid 20’s goalie for a top 15 pick” that seems to happen with many goalies, so Gillis might not have been that far off in his return. The only thing Gillis keeps missing is that vaunted 2nd or 3rd rounder throw in.

Here is Hasek about to hopefully slide kick someone like he once did to Marion Gaborik

Dom Hasek traded to Wings

There was no better goalie in the 90’s then Dominik Hasek. He was, and remains to this day, the best goalie I have ever seen play the game.

That being said, when he was traded in 2001 to the Red Wings (admittedly he was in his mid 30’s at this point), the return was underwhelming.

To Detroit

Dominik Hasek

To Buffalo

Vyacheslav Kozlov, a first round pick, and future considerations (widely rumored to be a really good back rub)

Kozlov played 38 games for the Sabres. That first rounder? It was Detroit’s, which meant it ended up being #30, basically a glorified 2nd round draft pick. That ended up being Jim Slater, who went on to play in the NHL, but as a 4th liner. I assume the future considerations of the back rub might sway some people into thinking this was a good deal, but again, at the end of the day, the Enron Goaltender market strikes again.

Here’s Kari just remembering he forgot to set his PVR. We’ve all been there, bud.

Kari “The Next Big Thing” Lehtonen trade

If you didn’t hear about how Kari was the best goalie not playing in the NHL for several years, then you were not a hockey fan back in 2002. Hearing about how he was the next Hasek was par for the course (winning wise, not style wise) and everyone expected great things from him. Alas, he was stuck on the Thrashers, who did not expect great things from anything, so he lost. He lost a lot. Still, he had that aura of “untapped potential” surrounding him, which meant his trade value should still have been good, right? He was traded to Dallas for:

To Atlanapeg

Ivan Vishneskiy (don’t worry, you don’t have to pretend to know who he is) and a 4th round pick (Ivan Telegin, don’t worry, you don’t need to pretend to know who he is either)

To Dallas

Kari Lehtonen

Injuries and inconsistency played a large part in devaluing Lehtonen before the trade, but even the untapped potential of a superstar goalie in the making wasn’t enough to fetch much of a return.

This is where Canucks fans can finally have a bit of leverage when asking why Gillis didn’t get enough value for Cory Schneider. Thomas Vokoun, the well established number one goalie in Nashville, had enjoyed multiple years playing great hockey for the Preds. He was clearly a top notch goalie at the time, but Nashville had a guy by the name of Pekka Rinne waiting in the wings (Again, unlike Vancouver they chose not to wait 2 years while two top goalies played an awkward game of “duck duck duck goose”), so they chose to deal him in 2007.

The differences between the Schneider trade and the Vokoun trade are that Vokoun was a well established number one goalie, and that the salary cap situation in the league wasn’t heading downwards. This is also why Luongo probably didn’t fetch the same kind of return, as he was older, and he has that contract of death.

Still, even though draft picks are always a gamble (except Shinkaruk and Horvat, right? RIGHT??) at least Nashville got three rolls of the dice for their top goalie.

His eyes always creep me out.

Semyon “Yarlamov” Varlamov trade

In a rare case of people actually thinking a team overpaid for a goalie, Varlamov managed to get a return that people looked favorably upon.

To Colorado

Semyon Varlamov

To Washington

1st round pick (11th overall, Filip Forsberg) and a 2nd round pick (Which ended up going to Boston in a key party-esque situation of multiple trading, which ended up being Mike Winther, who seems doomed to end up being an undersized AHL star)

This is a nice example where people can point out that a goalie with less on his resume then Schneider fetched a bigger return then what Mike Gillis got. So in this case, feel free to celebrate and spit at Mike Gillis.

Drunk on life. That’s all. I assume he was doing the “WAAZZZZZZUUUP” thing here.

Ed “Punchie McGee” Belfour” trade

Remember good old Ed? If you don’t, he’s that guy who probably offered you a billion dollars not to take him to jail. Yeah, that guy. Aside from all the drinking, he was actually a very good goalie. In fact, he was a top flight goalie for the Hawks for many years. So what did a top goalie for the Hawks net Chicago in return at the age of 32?

Dahlen was a decent, if not injury prone winger, who only played 30 games for Chicago before running to the SEL. Chris Terreri was Martin Brodeur’s caddy, and only played 2 seasons in Chicago before figuring out a way to get back to New Jersey several years later. And Michael Sykora was a 6th round draft pick who ended up playing a couple of seasons in Chicago before going back to the Czech Republic.

So top goalie Ed Belfour, who lost his job to Jeff “Vertigo” Hackett ended up returning a career backup, a d-man on an expiring contract, and a random late round draft pick. Not quite the haul you would expect for a top goalie.

(This might be the best Cup photo of all time. It has a very Michelangelo “Creation of Adam” feeling to it.)

Mike VernonTrade

Mike Vernon, after having been the top goalie for the Flames for 10 years, was chased out of his nets by Trevor Kidd (Vancouver fans can be encouraged by the disturbing trend of top flight goalies being replaced by the likes of Kidd and Hackett), and was dealt to the Red Wings. What did they get?

To Calgary

Mike Vernon

To Detroit

Steve Chiasson

Chiasson, whose career numbers were inflated by his time in Detroit, had several season of average hockey in Calgary before moving on. Still, at the time Calgary added a PP QB d-man for their top goalie, which must have been ok at the time, but in hindsight, wasn’t that great of a return.

Look at that pout! Someone’s been practicing for the cover of Tiger Beat magazine

Jonathan Bernier trade

This one lines up really well with Schneider being traded, so what did Bernier (he has the same pedigree as Schneider, but with a less impressive resume) get in return?

Again, Schneider has proven more at the NHL level, but it’s another case of a goalie with lots of potential not netting a very impressive return. No offense to the Frattin family, who I am sure are huge readers of this blog.

That is just a sample of the types of returns that top goalies have historically gotten in the modern NHL. Did Gillis drop the ball? Well, the Luongo situation was handled terribly no matter how you look at it. Whether you blame Luongo’s initial contract (did the owners insist upon it? Or was it all Gillis) or if you blame Gillis for overplaying his hand by holding out on dealing Luongo or Schneider last year when their value might have been higher, it’s hard to say overall that Gillis dropped the Schneider trade. The only thing Gillis seems to be missing from his deal is again, the infamous 2nd or 3rd round draft pick throw in, which is always a gamble at the best of times. Still, draft picks have value, so you can take Gillis to task for not at least getting those draft picks to take a roll of the dice on. You can also very much blame Gillis for the way this situation played out by taking so long to deal Luongo or Schneider, which leaves many a question on how much damage has been done to the relationship between Vancouver and Roberto. But strictly on value wise, it’s not actually a huge loss in my humble opinion.

The trend you can see throughout history, though, is that teams just don’t place a ton of value on established goalies, or younger goalies, and the return doesn’t end up being something that was often viewed as a huge win for the team trading the goalie. To come full circle here, goalies often end up being the Enron of the NHL in terms of value: Perceived to be very high by the fans of the team trading the goalie, but in the end, they find out the return isn’t as much as expected. Could Schneider have gotten a bigger return if he had been dealt this year or last, when he was putting up top numbers? Probably. I just don’t know how much more of a return it could have been.

Of course, if Luongo holds out or doesn’t report to camp, well, that’s when it’s safe to break out the pitchforks and run at Gillis. But that would never happen, right?

There were around 50 articles that came out today analyzing this move (can you tell Vancouver writers were dying to have something to talk about) but none of them talked about solving the current elephant in the room, that being “Will Roberto Luongo even come back to the Canucks?”

The scenarios play out like this:

– Luongo sits out and demands a trade, leaving the Canucks in a horrible quandary in the goaltending department

– Luongo is a professional, plays out his contract, and happily retires a Vancouver Canuck at the age of 78 after winning thirty seven Stanley Cups.

– Luongo plays but is still not happy, and the Canucks are eventually forced to trade him down the line, and they end up with me in net. The Canucks then go one to have the first 0-82 season in NHL history. To be fair, I will almost win game eighteen against the Flames, except Jay Feaster uses a laser pen to blind me in the third period, muttering “suck it, bloggers” before huffing and puffing up the two steps to the buffet table.

One of these three scenarios is palatable to Canucks fans, and that would be the Luongo goes the professional route (which if history is any indication, this is what he will choose), unless you’re really into scenarios in which Jay Feaster plays a petty villain whose goal in life is to ruin the day of a Vancouver blogger.

The question that we must ask now, then, is how do we go from a Roberto Luongo who had mentally checked out of ever being a Vancouver Canuck ever again, to happily donning the green and blue and playing out the rest of his contract in Vancouver? There are probably a variety of ways to accomplish this, but I will highlight and go over the ones that I think will really make Roberto Luongo forget all about this silly “we’ve been trying to trade you for two years but we couldn’t so now we need you to come back” business.

Re-Name Tuesdays in BC to Ludays

Not only would this assure Luongo that all of BC views him as a special and celebrated athlete, think of the promotions businesses could run on Ludays!

– 2 for 1 sale on hair gel

– Free plunger with every toilet bought on Luday

– Get your tires air checked for free

– Whack a Tim Thomas at the PNE

– Free poetry lessons at the local library

The possibilities are endless. Keep in mind that naming it Lu’s Day will not work, due to the fact that it will sound like Lose Day, which would bring us back to square one here.

Employ stand up comedians as backup goalies

Think about it, Luongo is bound to be looking over his shoulder anytime a new goalie ends up being his back up. The minute they get a couple of wins, he’s going to start thinking “oh no, not again….” and we might have a break down on our hands.

The best way to beat this? No longer employ NHL goalies. Eddie Lack, I love you, but you can no longer play here because we have Dave Chappelle sitting on the bench! Best case scenario? His routine about drinking purple stuff kills Roberto Luongo and has him in tears, making him loose and care free for the rest of the season. Worst case scenario? Dave Chappelle ends up being funnier than Luongo on twitter and sets off a huge debate over who is our number one tweeting goaltender.

Also in this scenario Chappelle wins three games in a row and becomes the new starting goalie for the Canucks. But again, he is hilarious, so at least it will be funny to watch.

Install Special Luongo Lanes in Vancouver

The mayor likes to hand out bike lanes like they are candy, so why not hand out a special “Luongo only” lane? Admittedly, this is a bit of a stretch on selling people as to how this will mend the fences with Luongo, but you have to think that one day Luongo is going to have a massive emergency to take care of (toilet at the Rog is plugged up, has to race home) and he is going to thank the GODS that he gets to use the Luongo Lanes to get home quickly.

We have to think outside the box sometimes, folks. This is how the Canucks ended up with sleep doctors, work with me here.

Hire Snooki to be an assistant coach

Luongo is a big fan of the Jersey Shore, and with that show recently ending its run, Lu probably has very little to turn to to try and cheer himself up. The Canucks can solve this easily by hiring Snooki to be an assistant coach. If Ryan Walters can be a “pep talk” coach, then I am sure Snooki can be a “scary orange annoying thing” coach.

Pros:

Imagine the press conferences with Tortorella? He will spend more time screaming at her then at his own team.

Con:

Will most likely fill all the water bottles with vodka

Pro:

Will serve as a visible distraction for the media to target instead of the team if the Canucks go on a losing streak

Con:

Will be pregnant three months into the season, creating the worlds most awkward episode of Maury Povich where the team has to find out which player fathered the baby.

Pro:

Will be the first person to finally get the Sedins to have a dark tan

Con:

The Sedins will be bright orange the rest of their lives due to the “Lead Paint Tanning” regiment employed by Snooki.

It ends up being a draw on paper, but the Canucks will win because Luongo will be so happy that Snooki is back in his life that the trade issues of the past year will be long forgotten.

Make Luongo a Super Captain

The Canucks once made Luongo the captain of the team, and some suggested it was to help make the idea of staying in Vancouver long term easier to digest for the Italian netminder.

Well with Henrik already doing a fine job as the captain, it’s hard to suggest making Lu the captain again, so we can’t utilize that strategy again. OR CAN WE? New idea: Make Luongo a “Super Captain”.

It’s just like a captain, except, oh I don’t know, he enters the arena coming out of the rafters on a zip line wearing a cape. And at ceremonial puck drops he gets to punch out one of the people the Canucks are honoring and can claim it was because they were an evil villain. And when he makes saves, fireworks go off in his glove and the other team lights on fire.

OK, admittedly this one needs some work….

This is only five ways in which the Canucks can make Luongo forget about the mess they’ve created with the goalie situation, but rest assured, there are many more. True, fifty percent of them involve the cast of the Jersey Shore, but sometimes you have to make sacrifices for the ones you love, and Vancouver loves you Lu! We love you!

Contractually we have to, I mean, but aside from that, we still love you.

Come back home Lu! We’re waiting!

]]>http://blogs.theprovince.com/2013/06/30/how-to-win-back-roberto-luongo/feed/1luongobackkidr0llludaychappellebikemaury povich1luuu“The Luongo Trade Speculation Spectacular” – Legion of Blogcast Ep.9http://blogs.theprovince.com/2013/01/15/the-luongo-trade-speculation-spectacular-legion-of-blogcast-ep-9/
http://blogs.theprovince.com/2013/01/15/the-luongo-trade-speculation-spectacular-legion-of-blogcast-ep-9/#commentsTue, 15 Jan 2013 23:06:41 +0000http://blogs.theprovince.com/?p=103309j.Bowman and Wyatt Arndt started the Legion of Blogcast under the dark cloud of another hockey strike, and they couldn’t be happier that the show only got to 8 episodes before hockey returned.

Now with the MOU officially signed, episode …

]]>j.Bowman and Wyatt Arndt started the Legion of Blogcast under the dark cloud of another hockey strike, and they couldn’t be happier that the show only got to 8 episodes before hockey returned.

Now with the MOU officially signed, episode 9 features all sorts of hockey speculation *cough* Luongo trade *cough*.

]]>http://blogs.theprovince.com/2013/01/15/the-luongo-trade-speculation-spectacular-legion-of-blogcast-ep-9/feed/0Luongotradedjbowman85(Nothing says "Calgary" like Bret Hart with a cow in the Sharpshooter)Roberto Luongo Trade Survival Guidehttp://blogs.theprovince.com/2013/01/14/roberto-luongo-trade-survival-guide/
http://blogs.theprovince.com/2013/01/14/roberto-luongo-trade-survival-guide/#commentsMon, 14 Jan 2013 11:27:40 +0000http://blogs.theprovince.com/?p=103115Barring a Cory Schneider blown knee in the next few days, or a sinister Batman-esque plot of the Joker demanding Luongo start in net or else, Roberto Luongo’s days in Vancouver are numbered. This is of course not news for …]]>Barring a Cory Schneider blown knee in the next few days, or a sinister Batman-esque plot of the Joker demanding Luongo start in net or else, Roberto Luongo’s days in Vancouver are numbered. This is of course not news for anyone in the BC area, much less North America, as Roberto Luongo’s future has been the hottest topic of debate, right behind the NHL lock…..the lockou……that thing that happened at the end of 2012.

Love him or hate him (or be neutral with him, fine, be that way), Roberto Luongo’s eventual departure will take an emotional toll on the fans of the Vancouver Canucks. It’s virtually impossible to have a star crossed goalie like Luongo leave without having a lasting impact on the community he played in. Fear not, however, as I am here to once again provide a handy dandy guide for you to follow during the days leading up to Luongo’s eventual trade. Instead of sitting in the corner experiencing the highs or lows of the pre-trade Luongo time, why not read this guide, and try and attain that path all divorced parents eventually settle on; the path of forced neutrality.

It’s not your fault

Roberto still loves you. Schneider still loves you too. Remember, none of this is your fault. Or your buddies fault either. If Roberto Luongo gets traded, there is no need to yell at your friends who are Schneider fans. Just because they jeered Luongo at times during his stay in Vancouver, does not mean they “ran him out of town.” Fans have shockingly very little power over anything. Fans are lucky to get one water fountain in Roger’s Arena, let alone influencing a trade of any kind.

You don’t need to unfollow your Schneider friends on Twitter or de-friend them on Facebook. People are allowed to be fans of both goalies, or they can prefer one goalie over another. Just because someone is excited to see what Schneider can do as the starter does not make them an unfeeling jerk who is trying to stab you in the heart and spit all over your face. Unless they do stab you in the heart, at which point you should consider calling 911.

That being said, if Luongo does get traded and you’re a Schneider fan only, try and keep the touchdown celebration dances to a minimum. If there is one thing Hockey Gods hate, it’s cockiness. They will have no trouble at all making sure Luongo sweeps the Canucks in the Finals at the earliest chance they get. I am still convinced that the Canucks lost the Finals in 2011 because after game 5 I thought for half a second “The Canucks have this”, at which point the Hockey Gods got exceptionally angry and decided to make an example out of me.

Roberto should have good memories of Vancouver

Let’s do a checklist:

– Kicked Dan Cloutier out of the record books.

– Has token failed Stanley Cup Run under his belt, putting him on par with McLean and Brodeur.

– Was up for Vezina and Hart trophy, but due to the fact he played for Vancouver, was forced to lose the Vezina to Marty Brodeur in what I call the “Oh hey, you never won this thing while Hasek was here, did you Marty? Here, take this one.” logic.

– Has made the All-Star game and in a nod to the Vancouver hipster crowd, started declining invites to the All-Star game. Luongo declined invites to the All-Star game before it was cool.

– Recorded the most career wins by a Canucks goalie ever, has the most career shutouts ever, has the highest career save percentage ever, most wins in a season ever, most shutouts in a season ever…you get the point. Luongo has a lot of records.

– Remember back when Turco was really annoying for a couple of seasons? Luongo beat him in 2007 in the playoffs and probably caused that two year long tempter tantrum. That is notable because it was amusing, so I’m putting this down as a good thing.

– Reverse-Brodeured Martin Brodeur in the 2010 Olympics. For those that remember the 2002 Olympics, Marty Brodeur beat out Curtis Joseph for the top spot, and Cujo didn’t take it so well, but it didn’t matter because Marty brought home the gold. In 2010, Luongo pulled off the same maneuver, except Marty didn’t find it so amusing this time around.

That’s a solid resume upgrade for a goalie who was stuck in Florida during the dark times, and was most known for “that guy who shows up at World Championships every year.” Luongo actually had a lot of good times in Vancouver, so it’s not like he’ll be leaving the city swearing at it and shaking his fist at all the fans. For the fans of Luongo, you have a lot of fond memories to look back upon, which is far more than many other people got for their favorite player. I only got two seasons of Wellwood before he was sent to corner of the world. I am of course speaking about Winnipeg.

It could be worse

Speaking of Curtis Joseph, remember when Dom Hasek and Cujo were on the same team in Detroit? And how awkward it got? It was at the point where each goalie refused to practice at the same time, and both goalies gave really awkward interviews to the press. It was so awkward that Cujo began forgetting sports cliches and just started mumbling and pointing out various objects in the dressing room. “Yeah, I mean, it’s tough, that’s a nice bench over there, I mean you have to come out, and look at that towel, that’s nice, and you just keep your head down and make sure you look at the nice skates over there.” Hasek got so uncomfortable he pretended not to speak English again. It was not a good situation.

Compare that to Luongo and Schneider, and they actually have a good relationship. I am sure neither side is overjoyed at the idea of both trying to be a number one goalie at the same time in the same city, but both sides respect each other enough that they don’t have to have an awkward silence every time they enter the room together. Luongo and Schneider generally like each other, which makes this situation so much better for everyone involved. I am sure if Luongo and Schneider could choose, they would each take turns winning the Stanley Cup, but they know this is a business, and life doesn’t always work out that way. This is the joy of having two professionals on the same team, it allows fans to take pride in how their star athletes handle themselves in tough situations.

The trade was for the greater good

One of the two had to go this season, as both goalies deserve to be a starting goaltender in the NHL. Roberto will end up being the guy to go most likely due to his age and his contract (or maybe the Canucks really want a goaltender who is good at impersonations, I never know what advanced stats they might be using), but honestly, if you’re a fan of Luongo, you should be happy he gets to continue being a starter in the NHL. And (knock on wood) if Luongo doesn’t go to Toronto, there might be a chance he actually gets murdered in the press less in a smaller market. Can you imagine a world where Luongo lets in six goals and comes out after the game and only one reporter is there, and he isn’t even sure what Luongo’s name is? I bet Roberto can imagine that.

“Hey Rick Lalonde, that was quite a game. Do you think that puck was….going fast tonight?…. I have no idea what to ask, I’m usually the NBA guy.”

It’s always hard to see a favorite player go, and with the way Luongo has been endearing himself to fans by opening up on twitter, it makes it even harder. It’s almost amusing if you think about it. Luongo had a history of being aloof, and had a perceived arrogance about him, only the fans find out in the off-season he is being traded that he is actually one of the most down to earth guys in the NHL with a great sense of humor. It was probably easier to boo the goalie you thought was kind of a jerk, then it would be to boo the guy who re-tweeted your poop joke about him on gameday morning. Roberto Luongo humanized himself on twitter and made it that much harder to criticize him from afar, making his leaving all the more harder for many fans. It’s as if your McDonald’s hamburger suddenly grew a face and told you it’s name was Daisy and that it enjoyed getting pets from it’s human owners and please never ever hurt it. It’s a bit tougher to take.

With that being said, though, use these last few hours, days, weeks, however long it takes, to celebrate arguably the greatest goaltender in Vancouver history. With no Stanley Cup victories in Vancouver’s history, we have made a history out of celebrating athletes by a different measuring stick. Whether it is by the Trevor Linden “I’d let that guy marry my daughter” measuring stick, or the Markus Naslund “Holy crap, we actually have a talented player in the lineup??” stick, Roberto Luongo measures up well on both accounts, and fans of either goalie should stand up and applaud Luongo’s tenure in Vancouver.

But seriously, Luongo, why did you put your hand up against Anaheim??

(I kid, I kid)

]]>http://blogs.theprovince.com/2013/01/14/roberto-luongo-trade-survival-guide/feed/0BLOG_20130110_1kidr0llCanucks' Luongo reacts in Game 3 of their NHL Western Conference quarter-final hockey game against the Kings in Los Angeles250px-Roberto_Luongo_2010_flagDominik-Hasekgreater_good_hot_fuzzRoberto Luongo enjoys sunshine, long walks on the beach, AND FLORIDAhttp://blogs.theprovince.com/2012/09/04/87184/
http://blogs.theprovince.com/2012/09/04/87184/#commentsTue, 04 Sep 2012 19:56:59 +0000http://blogs.theprovince.com/?p=87184Stop me if you’ve heard this one before…

Roberto Luongo walks into a bar and the bartender goes “What are you having?”

Luongo goes “TRADE ME TO FLORIDA.”

That’s what it’s come down to lately. We all know Roberto Luongo …

]]>Stop me if you’ve heard this one before…

Roberto Luongo walks into a bar and the bartender goes “What are you having?”

Luongo goes “TRADE ME TO FLORIDA.”

That’s what it’s come down to lately. We all know Roberto Luongo wants to go to Florida, and news “hit” today that yes, in fact, he really really does want to go to Florida. Roberto Luongo, who is currently hanging out in Florida, decided to partake in a light practice at the Saveology.com Iceplex (I assume Saveology is the same as Scientology, except you get a bunch of coupons with it), just before regular Panthers goalies Jose Theodore and Scott Clemmensen took to the ice. To save all the goalies involved from an embarrassing situation of Luongo measuring Theodore’s locker to see if his recliner would fit in it, Luongo left the ice early. And walked into an awkward interview anyways.

The interview, being done in an energetic, if not kind of creepy way because it looks like it takes place in a shower room, talks to Luongo about his current situation, and how feels about being in limbo both in his role on the Vancouver Canucks and in regards to the NHL lockout situation. Luongo, ever the pro, cliches the crap out of this interview, not even being phased by the menacing giggling that occurs from the interviewer halfway through the video.

For the video interview, CLICK HERE. I would embed it, but Word Press hates me, and I cannot figure out how to do so.

Aside from the video, we also have the Sun Sentinel from Florida discussing the situation even further. Highlights of this article include Roberto Luongo being labelled disgruntled, about how Luongo wanted to leave the ice to avoid an awkward situation before the Sentinel caused one anyhow, and just how badly Clemmensen and Theodore probably want Luongo to stay the hell away from Florida. Quotes from Clemmensen and Theodore were amusing, as Theodore claims he wants to retire in Florida, and Clemmensen claiming he likes to run people named Luongo over in his car in the off-season (That last one might have been made up.) Basically the vibe you get from them is “leave our sunny, no pressure environment alone, you big footed jerk.”

To sum up today’s news? Roberto Luongo would enjoy playing for the Florida Panthers. Up next? Breaking news, Shane Doan hasn’t given up on Phoenix yet!

]]>http://blogs.theprovince.com/2012/09/04/87184/feed/0luongointrokidr0llRoberto Luongo’s World Series of Poker is overhttp://blogs.theprovince.com/2012/07/13/roberto-luongos-world-series-of-poker-is-over/
http://blogs.theprovince.com/2012/07/13/roberto-luongos-world-series-of-poker-is-over/#commentsFri, 13 Jul 2012 21:49:40 +0000http://blogs.theprovince.com/?p=81746(It’s about damn time Fabio Luongo got some attention around here, so he gets the leading picture for the story)

Roberto Luongo, currently still a member of the Vancouver Canucks contrary to rumors he was traded to the Dallas …

]]>(It’s about damn time Fabio Luongo got some attention around here, so he gets the leading picture for the story)

Roberto Luongo, currently still a member of the Vancouver Canucks contrary to rumors he was traded to the Dallas Cowboys for three cheerleaders, has fallen at the World Series of Poker. Despite his ability to glove hand any chips thrown his way, and despite the fact he can stack the pads and stone anyone trying to slip a pair of aces by him five hole, Luongo’s World Series dream has come to a close.

Still, we shouldn’t look at this as a bad moment. Roberto Luongo actually did quite well at this tournament. In a field of 6598 people, Luongo lasted up to Day 4, ending the tournament at the 634th spot taking home a cool $19,777, and outlasting professionals, semi-pros, and your 5th grade Kindergarten teacher. She still says you need to work on your cursive writing by the way.

Joking aside, Luongo (described as a “conservative poker player” by the experts), made it quite far, and it begs the question, how much will Roberto Luongo hold this over his teammates in future poker games with them?

“Oh, you want to raise me? Sorry, only people who made it to the final 700 at the World Series of Poker Main Event can do that, Alex.”

“Oh, you beat me in a pot? You should probably phone your mother, it’s often you get to lose a pot to a World Series of Poker final 700 participant.”

“Did you bluff me?? Do you know who I am??”

Of course, as well as Luongo did, he did fail at one thing. He was not the best Luongo at this World Series of Poker. His brother, Fabio Luongo, is still in the tournament, as he outlasted Roberto. When the day started on Day 4, Roberto had 92,000 chips and Fabio had 360,000 in chips. Perhaps it was due to a more reckless style, or maybe the card talent simply lies with Fabio (I think Fabio would agree with this), either way, the Luongo’s should be happy with their efforts. As of this posting, Fabio is still alive, so I will update you with his final position when he goes out.

Of course, this also means Fabio can bust his brothers balls on a regular basis.

“Oh hey, remember that time I beat you in the World Series of Poker? Yeah. That was fun.”

“Hey you managed to make a save! That’s almost as good as making it further in the World Series of Poker.”

“It gets tiring telling people that Roberto Luongo is the brother of the famous poker player Fabio. Now go wash my dishes.”

Without having TV coverage of Luongo, it’s tough to get too much information on the hands themselves, but Poker News did make mention of one big hand Luongo had today. Facing elimination, Luongo went all in with Ace/Queen off suit against someone with a pair of sevens. Luongo managed to catch a Queen off the flop, and then rode it out and hit a Queen on the river for good measure. Luongo was so nervous he reportedly flopped to his stomach and made a kick save.

Luongo kept up the good fight until he had to make a move due to a diminishing stack, and went all in with a pair of fours. Alas, he ran into a pair of Jacks, and the flop of 8, 10, 2, King, 3 did him no favors. It was like Dustin Byfuglien was in his crease as the cards simply shoved Luongo out of the way to end his day.

The good news? Roberto made it to the money round, and his brother is still alive and still has a chance to win it all.

The bad news? He missed out on the free Starbucks Refresher drink Vancouver was offering today, between 12-3pm only.

For a fun video of one of the more awkward interviews you will ever see, here is someone interviewing Roberto Luongo about poker. My favorite part is the “my bad” guy who walks in front of the interview and almost trips on a cable.

]]>http://blogs.theprovince.com/2012/07/13/roberto-luongos-world-series-of-poker-is-over/feed/1Fabio Luongo;kidr0llLuongo shocks the world, states “it’s time to move on” during a Cfox interviewhttp://blogs.theprovince.com/2012/07/06/luongo-shocks-the-world-states-its-time-to-move-on-during-a-cfox-interview/
http://blogs.theprovince.com/2012/07/06/luongo-shocks-the-world-states-its-time-to-move-on-during-a-cfox-interview/#commentsFri, 06 Jul 2012 18:04:01 +0000http://blogs.theprovince.com/?p=80807(Recap of the Cfox interview at the bottom of article)

OK, maybe ‘shock’ isn’t the best word to use, maybe I could have used “confirmed the obvious” but, there it is. Regardless of how obvious it is, though, it is …

]]>(Recap of the Cfox interview at the bottom of article)

OK, maybe ‘shock’ isn’t the best word to use, maybe I could have used “confirmed the obvious” but, there it is. Regardless of how obvious it is, though, it is still a news worthy item in that it finally makes it hit home for some fans; Roberto Luongo has played his last game in a Canucks uniform (of course by saying this the Canucks will hold onto him until December just to mess with me, but for all intents and purposes, Luongo’s time is done here). It’s kind of like when you were a kid, and you started having your doubts about Santa. You didn’t want to believe it, but you just couldn’t see how Santa could fit down that chimney, and why he would want to drink room temperature milk. Still, you held onto some sort of faint hope that maybe things would work out where you could have the best of both worlds. Maybe Santa hired small children to deliver the presents for him, and maybe they fed the disgusting warm milk to the reindeers. But when your parents finally admitted “ok, you got us, there is no Santa”, even though you saw it coming, it still kind of hurts.

And this is what many Canucks fans have to accept now, that Roberto Luongo is moving on. There is no dream scenario of Cory Schneider and Roberto Luongo holding hands, skipping down the hallway, content to split the games evenly next season. There is no scenario where Luongo and Schneider jump into the air, scream “Shneidongo!!!” and combine into one transformer goalie. The only scenario that will play out is the one where Vancouver moves on and puts all their trust and hopes onto the back of Cory Schneider.

It’s a scary time for Canucks fans, as we have been spoiled the last couple of years, having arguably one of the top goaltending duos in the entire NHL. There were times in years past where the Canucks were lucky to escape with a win when the backup was in net (Brochu. What’s up buddy?), but last year, the Canucks had the luxury of starting Schneider or Luongo, knowing both goalies gave them a chance to win any game. There was also the safety net of knowing if either goalie was injured, we had a top goalie ready to come in and play a long stretch of games for us, without a noticeable drop off in talent. In the future, though, if Schneider goes down, we will have to rely upon a veteran backup, assuming the Canucks sign one, or Eddie Lack, a young goalie who hasn’t seen NHL action yet. This is of course the situation most NHL teams are in, however, so it’s hard to feel too bad for the Canucks having too much wealth in nets. It is just something Canucks fans have to get used to again.

Regardless, let’s save the fond farewells for Luongo for when the trade actually goes down (plus you always want to account for that 1% scenario where Schneider quits hockey to fight space monkeys to save the planet earth, thus making Luongo the number one goalie again.) I am of the firm belief that history will be kinder to Luongo. During Luongo’s time here, he faced a ton of criticism, some warranted, some not at all, but he was in my opinion the best Canucks goaltender of all time. All one has to do is remember the years of goaltending we had to endure after McLean’s game went south, and then watch highlights of the 2006 season, Luongo’s first with the team, where he put on a goaltending show the likes of which had never been seen in Vancouver before. So while we wait for the inevitable trade, while we prep all of our stories talking about the impact Luongo had on this town and on our sporting lives, take a moment to have a beer (or glass of water), and raise your glass in appreciation of Luongo’s time in Vancouver. He may not have won a Cup with us, but you know there was nothing he wanted more during his six years with the team. Good luck Roberto!

P.S. Roberto, if you ever face the Canucks on your new team in the playoffs and beat them, you are dead to us all. So, you know…maybe let up on that Mason Raymond wrist shot from center if you face the Canucks. That’s all I’m saying.

Aside from the doom and gloom of pondering Luongo leaving, he did touch on many other subjects during his interview with Cfox. Below is a recap of the amusing Luongo interview gave this morning:

Here is a written recap provided by me. Paraphrased since I’ll be damned if I add every single “and”, “or”, or “the”. I also omitted some random jokes that were not needed, because again, I’ll be damned if I am going to write out every single word. Also please keep in mind that tone is hard to describe via quick paraphrasing, so listen to the interview so you can decide the tone. In my opinion it was a very light hearted, laid back tone the entire interview.

*Show starts off by welcoming hockey player and semi-pro poker player Roberto Luongo*

Cfox: Is there anything off limits? We can’t talk about?

Roberto Luongo: Well I wasn’t impressed with the “semi-pro” poker player part

Cfox: Is this your first interview since the season ended?

RL: Yes it is

Cfox: And you got stuck with us?

RL: Might as well start somewhere

Cfox: Are you strombone1 on twitter? Because if you’re on twitter and you’re a celebrity like yourself, the account would be verified

RL: That’s a great question. I’ve heard a lot about this strombone1 the last little while. I think he’s really funny. I don’t particulary tweet that much.

Cfox: Was that a no? I think we just got politicianed. Roberto, an easier question, our poll question yesterday was “do you pee in the shower?”

RL: That is a great question. I’ve had that issue with a lot of the boys this year in the locker room. I am not a big fan of peeing in the shower. It splashes around…

Cfox: Not the public shower!

RL: Why would I pee in my own shower, that doesn’t even make sense.

Cfox: You’re here for the World Series of Poker main event, is this the first tourney you’ve been in since the season ended?

RL: I’ve been in some small tourneys back home, but nothing of this magnitude. I am just super excited to be here.

Cfox: If you do well tomorrow (World Series poker starts tomorrow), you will be up to midnight!

RL: I’ve had some long shifts online, but I think I can handle it.

*At this point they just discuss poker strategy. I won’t lie, it’s probably not worth me writing it out*

Cfox: What happens if you go so far into the tournament, that would take you into November? The final table is during November, that’s hockey season. What the hell happens then?

RL: I’ll be playing poker then. That’s a no brainer.

*laughter ensues*

Cfox: Did you ask Mike Gillis to limit the teams you’d be willing to be traded to? If so, which teams are they?

RL: We never really had that discussion. Mike threw it out there at our end of the season meeting, but we never really talked about it any further.

Cfox: But there is no way in hell you’re going to Columbus

RL: I’d rather not talk specifics right now.

Cfox: You can’t go to Shitcago.

RL: I know but I’ve always said I like playing Chicago.

Cfox: In a Canucks jersey though…

RL: Hah exactly.

Cfox: Somebody said there were three things you really wanted to achieve in your career. Olympic gold, Stanley Cup, and World Series of Poker bracelet. Will you win the bracelet or the ring next?

RL: Right now I am focused on the bracelet. Once that’s done, I am going to go for the ring.

Cfox: Will the CBA cause any problems with the NHL starting on time?

RL: I can’t see us striking again after what happened last time. There are some issues there, but hopefully we don’t miss any time.

Cfox: What was more of a crushing defeat, getting crushed by the Kings in 5, or seeing your Italians getting smoked by the Spanish?

RL: Tough question. Last one is still fresh, still an open wound.

Cfox: Do you yell at the TV?

RL: Well when you’re Italian you have no choice.

Cfox: Where do you keep the gold medal?

RL: It’s at my home. It’s always with me. When I am in Vancouver it’s with me, when I go home, it’s with me. Great moment, great memories.

Cfox: Do you use the gold medal as a card marker?

RL: That’s a great idea. I should do that.

Cfox: What is your card marker?

RL: I don’t have one. I am going to go on a hunt today to find a fun one.

*More poker talk about playing in Luongo’s tournament at River Rock.*

Cfox: The Canucks signed your friend Cory Schneider to a 3 year deals last week, they seemingly had no choice because they would have been in a bidding war with other teams over him. Did anybody call you before they signed Cory and what are your thoughts on the deal?

RL: Nobody called me, but it was expected. Everyone has seen what Cory has done in Vancouver the last several years. He is a tremendous talent, and the main thing I like about him is he has a great head on his shoulders. He can handle the pressures of the Vancouver market. He will win a few vezinas I’m sure.

Cfox: Any chance in hell you’re in a Canucks jersey this fall?

RL: Never say never, but I think we all know what’s going on, we’ve all seen what’s developed. At the end of the day I think it’s time to move on, and I’m ok with that. I’ve had a great six years in Vancouver and I think it’s a wonderful city. I really enjoyed my time there. Sadly I could never win a cup there, which is probably my greatest regret, but it was a great six years.

Cfox: Is it nice playing in Vancouver because the fans are so passionate, or is it nicer playing in a non hockey market?

RL: I’ve never had a negative encounter with a person in Vancouver

Cfox: They didn’t have the balls to say it to you

*laughter*

RL: That’s the name of the game though. You want to be playing in a hockey market, that’s fun, that’s what hockey is all about. It makes the game fun.

*At this point they start taking calls from callers. Even quicker recap*

– Playing in Vancouver is fun market. Anonimity of Florida is nice for having dinner with the family. When playing you want sold out arena, in a Vancouver type market

– Is Florida a polar opposite of Vancouver? Media scrums were usually around 10 people, compared to shoulder to shoulder rooms full of people in Vancouver

– Would you play in Chicago? A lot of cities are great to play in, Chicago is definetly one of them. But it’s not only Luongo involved in this, depends on Chicago would want him, depends if Vancouver would even trade him there…a lot more involved in this then just Luongo’s desires

– Steve Nash left 9 million on the table to not go to TO, would Luongo leave money on the table not to go somewhere? Contract is already signed, he can’t leave money on the table. Maybe his contract is handicap, but it is what it is. Florida is his home in the off-season, and it makes sense family wise to play there.

– Luongo then says he likes the Chelsea Dagger song. He “heard it seven times one game”

– Could Luongo demand not to be traded? Luongo could but he feels it’s time to move on. Neither one of Gillis or Luongo suggested he leave, it was more of a mutual understanding that it was time for Cory to take over

– Luongo mentioned Florida for the third time. I think he might be hinting at something

– Luongo would not care what he was traded for. (Host asked if he would be pissed if he was traded for a puck bag)

– Last question, are you cut or uncut? Luongo said uncut. Then asked what hair products he used. Luongo said it was all natural. Ending on an awkward note, nice.

]]>http://blogs.theprovince.com/2012/07/06/luongo-shocks-the-world-states-its-time-to-move-on-during-a-cfox-interview/feed/3canucksgoaliekidr0llIf Roberto Luongo ends up going to the Leafs…http://blogs.theprovince.com/2012/06/01/if-roberto-luongo-ends-up-going-to-the-leafs/
http://blogs.theprovince.com/2012/06/01/if-roberto-luongo-ends-up-going-to-the-leafs/#commentsFri, 01 Jun 2012 20:36:27 +0000http://blogs.theprovince.com/?p=76707We’ve all heard the rumors. The speculation. The gossip. You know what I’m talking about. It seems you can’t walk five feet in this city without hearing people weigh in on the subject. I am of course talking about the …]]>We’ve all heard the rumors. The speculation. The gossip. You know what I’m talking about. It seems you can’t walk five feet in this city without hearing people weigh in on the subject. I am of course talking about the buy one get one free President’s Trophy hats deal the Canucks will be offering next week. And I can confirm that this is true. Currently the President’s Trophy hats are being used like bags of sand to prevent flooding in parts of the world.

There is of course the other rumor out there you may have heard of, the one about Roberto Luongo being traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs. You can’t turn a corner without running into somebody talking about Luke Schenn, the fifth overall pick, or me talking about how we can flip all of that for Shea Weber.

Of course, it’s hard to imagine arguably the best Canucks goalie of all time going to the enemy of the East in the Maple Leafs, especially with Luongo still having many good years left in him. Nothing is more horrifying than imagining Roberto Luongo leading the Leafs to the Stanley Cup and winning it all with them. You thought that Leafs fans were hard to stomach when Sundin was captaining them? Imagine having to hear from them that they won the Cup AND they did it with our former star goalie. It will be a full circle for them after having run Larry Murphy out of town only to see him win with Detroit. I don’t want to be Larry Murphied. I don’t want to have to put a foot through my TV because Luongo is pumping the Stanley Cup above his head wearing a Leafs jersey.

The other fun thing will be that all your Leafs friends who previously told you that “Luuuuuuu”-ing after every save Luongo made was stupid, will now gleefully “Luuuu” their heads off and think it’s the coolest thing ever.

But that is getting far far ahead of myself. We don’t even know if and where Luongo will be traded, much less if he will win a Cup with another team in his career. But just in case Luongo DOES get traded to the Leafs, I want to prepare him a bit. We’ve all learned a lot during Luongo’s time in Vancouver, and I want to make sure he knows what to expect if he goes to Toronto, and maybe some advice on what or what not to do with his potential new team. Think of it as a going away present for all the good things Luongo has done for Vancouver during his time here.

Vancouver is known as a goalie graveyard. Toronto managed to love Felix Potvin for years.

One of the main things Luongo will notice in Toronto is how their fans can seemingly overlook any goaltender deficiencies and embrace their starting goalie like no other. In Vancouver, if you’ve posted four shutouts in a row, and then lose the fifth game 1-0, we will often wonder what happened to your game, and remember the good old days of three days ago when you used to be a good goaltender. In Toronto, you could lose a game 8-7, and they will high five over that time you made the guy hit the post in the first period.

Felix Potvin, a remarkably average goaltender who played so deep in his net that his net cam footage was often enough for his doctor to check on his prostate, was beloved in Toronto. It takes a lot to make Toronto fans turn on their goalie, as in recent memory the only goalie I can think of who really felt the wrath of their entire fan base recently (Aside from Raycroft) is Vesa Toskala, who let in this goal:

Dan Cloutier probably wished he played for Toronto. “I only let in goals from center ice, not from behind the opponents net!”

Roberto Luongo playing average would likely allow him to be viewed as a god and have statues erected in his honor. He would be carried around on a litter during his time in Toronto, and would have five virgins delivered to his door step daily. Yes, he would be getting the Trevor Linden treatment. Simply play well enough to get to the second round and you should be a hero to the Leafs fans.

(The best part of Greg Adam’s goal on Felix Potvin will always be the fact the ice crew gave him 10 seconds to cry about it before they took his net away)

In Vancouver Luongo found it hard to find praise. In Toronto Don Cherry will pump Lalongo’s tires all day long.

During Luongo’s first year here, he could do no wrong. After years of watching Dan Cloutier act out various scenes of the Mighty Ducks movies in our nets, most fans were relieved to see a goaltender making more than three saves in a row without being tied to it, on a constant basis. And regardless of what you think of Luongo, you have to admit, he carried that 2006 team on his back all season long. When Jeff Cowan ends up on a scoring streak for your team, you know you have some offensive issues.

But as Luongo continued to play here, and expectations got higher and higher, the words of praise started coming few and far between. It all culminated in the Stanley Cup Finals when Luongo spoke out to the media about how Tim Thomas wasn’t pumping his tires. It has now gotten to the point where Luongo could win the Cup for the city and people would be wondering why he didn’t win two cups. Roberto Luongo ended up being the loneliest man in the world with few in the Vancouver media standing up for him.

Luckily in Toronto he will be assigned a personal cheerleader in Don Cherry. And while one would hope Cherry would learn the name of Luongo should he play for the Leafs, either way, Lalongo will all of a sudden be featured on every Hockey Night in Canada. Specials will be done in his honor as they show how amazing Luongo is, and how he invented the candy cane. CBC will create a new channel in his honor, channel L, in which a camera will show Luongo eating dinner on a looped feed, as an answer to Shaw Cable’s “Fireplace Log”. “Luongo eating spaghetti” will be the highest rated show on CBC, with people waiting and waiting to see the spot where Luongo drops a meatball but makes a glove save on it before it hits the ground. This will be a good time for Lalongo.

Set the bar LOW!

One of the biggest mistakes Luongo made was setting the bar too high during his time in Vancouver, far too early. He came in and had one of the best seasons of all time for a Vancouver Canucks goaltender in his first year, which left people wanting more. Luongo needs to realize you should start slowly, and work your way up to that Stanley Cup dream, as it will force a more natural progression of emotions from the fans. You can’t just give the fat kid a piece of his ice cream cake 6 months before his birthday then expect him to be happy with some vegetables later that week. You need to build up to the prize.

I am not suggesting Luongo follow the same path Dan Cloutier took. Dan Cloutier didn’t set a bar. He took the bar off and placed it on the ground and then tripped over it and hurt his knee. There is, however, a happy medium in there, which will allow Luongo to escape the angry demands for “More! More! More!”. Luongo needs to play well enough to make the playoffs as long as he isn’t the only reason they make the playoffs.

HBO Time!

24/7, the vaunted HBO show that shows unprecedented behind the scene footage of NHL hockey teams leading up to the Winter Classic, is set to showcase the Detroit Red Wings and the Toronto Maple Leafs next season. Now, Luongo has never been the most natural guy behind the camera, but he did try his best in those vignettes with Jamie McLennan, and he did do reasonably well with his poetry reading with TSN.

But that was a smaller audience. HBO? This is big time. This is his chance to shine, to steal the show, to bring in a legion of new fans. And there is only one way to do this: Nude Luongo. That’s all there is to it. Just be nude as much as possible on camera. Embrace it. Walk up and give interviews being nude. Bake bread while being nude. Practice nude. There is no downside to this. Not only does it make people talk about you, but it will probably get in the opponents head when playing against you. Watch as they try and fight the image of you doing naked squats during practice sessions while they come flying in on a breakaway. You can’t lose. Ryan Kesler only kind of posed nude for ESPN, and he became one of the most talked about NHL athletes. So think of what an entire TV season of Nude Luongo will do?

That is all the advice I have for you Roberto. I have no idea where or when you will be traded, or even if. But if you do, I just want you to remember that many people in Vancouver still support you and are thankful for all that you have done for us.

Also, Nude Luongo. Do it.

]]>http://blogs.theprovince.com/2012/06/01/if-roberto-luongo-ends-up-going-to-the-leafs/feed/2RobertoLuongokidr0lltrophyhatsLuongowinpotvinluongobannerAlain Vigneault admits Luongo wants outhttp://blogs.theprovince.com/2012/05/24/alain-vigneault-admits-luongo-wants-out/
http://blogs.theprovince.com/2012/05/24/alain-vigneault-admits-luongo-wants-out/#commentsThu, 24 May 2012 16:07:30 +0000http://blogs.theprovince.com/?p=75769Sometimes when waiting a long time for an event to occur, the mind can play tricks on itself. A good example is in the classic movie “Assassins,” starring Antonio Banderas and Sylvester Stallone. In one scene, Antonio watches Stallone enter …]]>Sometimes when waiting a long time for an event to occur, the mind can play tricks on itself. A good example is in the classic movie “Assassins,” starring Antonio Banderas and Sylvester Stallone. In one scene, Antonio watches Stallone enter a bank, and all he has to do is wait for Stallone to leave the bank so he can snipe him from a building across the street. Stallone, being the smart man that he is, waits in the bank. For hours. He waits so long that Banderas begins to question himself, wondering if he missed Stallone leaving the bank. Banderas can finally take it no longer and he leaves his spot and goes across the street to check the bank himself, and finds Stallone smiling and having coffee. Banderas’s mind had been defeated by itself.

“Why are you talking about Assassins? And what does this have to do with Luongo? Have you been drinking again, Wyatt?” you might be asking right now. Well the reason I bring it up is because the Luongo trade is going to take a while. It will drag on and people will begin to question many things. It is already happening as people are beginning to wonder if Luongo will even be traded. Perhaps the Canucks will go with both goalies again? Maybe the Canucks get a better player for Schneider and will trade him instead? There are just so many unknowns in this situation that one naturally questions everything.

Well, almost everything. Yesterday it was confirmed by newly re-signed head coach Alain Vigneault that Roberto Luongo does indeed want out of Vancouver. Alain Vigneault, talking to the show “The Match” (I have no idea what show that is either. First thought is they interview people while playing tennis), disclosed that “This is what he wants now … And what we must do is [make the best decision] for our organization.” (Full source here from TVASports)

Now, aside from realizing that Google translate actually did a pretty good job with that page (I recognized English words!), Canucks fans might finally be getting some confirmation from the people in question that Luongo wants out. The scenario becomes a lot clearer now that we know that Roberto wants to move on. And it’s not very shocking that he does. If you look at all the evidence, one is surprised Luongo isn’t riding through town naked on a horse, screaming for the team to trade him, anywhere, just so long as he gets out of Vancouver as soon as possible. From getting booed instead of Lou’d, from watching the team have more confidence in Schneider in the playoffs last year, from watching the media eat him alive during last year’s Stanley Cup run, one wouldn’t blame Luongo at all for wanting a fresh start.

But like I said, the mind can sometimes play tricks on you, so it would be nice if Vigneault was indeed letting us know that Luongo does want out. Now the next time your buddy swears he was hanging out with a cousin of Aquilini’s, who told him that Luongo refuses to leave because Vancouver makes the only hair gel that can handle his hair, you can shake your head and remember that Vigneault said otherwise. In a market like Vancouver where rumors pop up every day (Did you know that Zack Kassian eats three baby cows before breakfast? David Booth does the slaughtering; Kassian doesn’t have the stomach for it), and where the team actively participates in misdirection (“He has a body … injury …”) it’s always a bit shocking to hear confirmations of any kind. (That being said, I am fully prepared to find out “The Match” or the source were off in their claim. I am pretty sure 50 per cent of the things stated by French-Canadian rumours end up being false. Which is actually kind of like the 50 per cent rate English Canada hockey rumors have. I will update this if I find out more.)

Even with that being said, this trade will probably take some time, so perhaps it’s time to catch up some movies. May I recommend Assassins, starring Antonio Banderas and Sylvester Stallone? I hear it’s a great film.

Update: Because it’s google translate, people are going to wonder how accurate it is and there will be several ways people translate it on their own. According to one person on Canucks.com, LostViking, Vigneault is saying